When Kobe Bryant talks, we listen. That's what five NBA titles and a league MVP gets you. As a result, it became national news when the 36-year-old Bryant was caught on camera going after his teammates for a lackluster effort during practice. "Soft," he called them.

Kobe Bryant is 36 years old. He has been in the NBA over half of his life, which is almost inconceivable in itself, and he's returning from a devastating knee injury that cost him pretty much an entire season. ESPN.com ranked him the 40th best player in the league -- and that's preposterous.

I write this piece following the ground work laid by W.E.B. Dubois's Veil of Double Consciousness. The veil he described was a visualization of racial duality. I now undertake the daunting task of clarifying the new veil of economics that has covered the struggles of a generation.

Perhaps the most glaring tell that Kobe isn't yet Kobe came with just under five minutes left in the game. He was fouled and heard the whistle, yet did not attempt to bring his hands through for his trademark move to draw a shooting foul.